Intimate Image Abuse and Your Right To Online Privacy

Have you ever sent a friend or partner sensual, nude or explicit pictures of yourself? Smartphones mean that we all now have a great camera and it's easier than ever to share images of yourself. If you're a consenting adult it can be fun if done right, and lets be honest most of us love a flattering selfie.

However, have you considered that there is a dangerous side to sharing explicit images? Have you ever been a victim of someone sharing or threatening to share images or video you've sent them?

When images are shared without the consent of the subject this is a form of sexual assault. Coined 'revenge porn' by the media, cyber sexual assault, cyber sexual exploitation or intimate image abuse are much more accurate terms. Revenge implies something was done that might deserve revenge, and porn implies that the images were intended for greater consumption than just one recipient. So let's call it what it actually is.

In particular, it can be a great danger for younger people and under-18s. There have been many cases of young people being groomed and sending images of themselves, or just sending pictures to a boyfriend or girlfriend, who then find themselves in a very scary situation when the receiver of the pictures either posts them, or threatens to. It's bad enough for an adult to have to deal with this, never mind a minor.

A new service from the Internet Watch Foundation and Childline has been created to help under-18s who have had pictures posted, or are scared that pictures may be posted of them. The Internet Watch Foundation works to remove child abuse material from the internet. In recent years they noticed that more of the images that they saw online had been created by the children themselves, and that the numbers of these images were rising. The fact that such a service has been set up is sad, but also not shocking to me as I know from personal experience with family members that younger people can easily be coerced into sending things that they shouldn't with very little knowledge and understanding of the danger that they are putting themselves in, as well as possible long term ramifications. Childline used an example of a 14 year old girl who had sent naked pictures to someone she thought was an online 'friend', but who later posted them and threatened to follow her friends so that they would see them too. 

It's a widespread problem that affects people of all ages and that we should be aware of.

Why has this become so commonplace? In 2014 private nudes of Emma Watson, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and many more celebrities were leaked after their iCloud accounts were hacked. The images were shared far and wide, and an online privacy debate ensued. For some people, the fact that nude images had been taken was enough to make the subjects 'fair game'. As a society we need to recognise how insidious this idea is, the idea that because of taking a picture of yourself that you somehow lose your right to privacy. Ultimately, people who share explicit images without consent are doing it to shame, hurt or sometimes extort their victims.

In April 2015, the Criminal Justice and Courts Act made it, 'an offence for a person to disclose a private sexual photograph or film if the disclosure is made without the consent of an individual who appears in the photograph or film, and with the intention of causing that individual distress'. Despite becoming a criminal offence, numbers of intimate image abuse seem to be rising. The pandemic and lockdown seem to have had an impact on this, certainly for adults cases of intimate image abuse in 2020 far surpassed cases in 2019. UK helplines saw a surge in calls after the lockdown was imposed. The Revenge Porn Helpline is an organisation set up in 2015 for adults (18+) and can help with a variety of issues;

- Intimate images shared without consent
- Threats to share intimate images
- Images recorded without consent (Voyeurism)
- Webcam blackmail (Sextortion)
- Upskirting

Upskirting - the act of taking a sexually intrusive photograph up someone’s skirt without their permission - only became illegal in England in 2019 after an 18 month campaign by activist Gina Martin, who had been targeted at a festival and was determined to effect change. Upskirting is remarkable in it's own way because for many young men, it was seen as innocuous, a bit of a laugh, acceptable. Not in the same ballpark as blackmailing someone with an explicit picture. I beleive this attitude contributes to the rise we are seeing in intimate image sharing.

A study by the University of Exeter found that 3 out of 4 victims were female. Out of the victims, most of the females suffered intimate image abuse while the male victims suffered extortion. Again, images being used to shame, harm and extort.

Taking selfies and sharing pictures instantly may be a relatively new thing, but it doesn't look like people will stop anytime soon. Dara Greenwood, an associate professor of psychology who studies the media's impact on our perceptions of ourselves says "We derive a sense of self and identity from being seen, both literally and figuratively, and valued, so there is additional motivation to broadcast the self via photograph." 

We need to ensure that we respect each other and everybody's right to privacy. Sharing explicit pictures without consent is assault, yes even if it's just showing your friends. The rise of the internet has meant that we are used to sharing media with very little thought, memes, funny photos, screenshots and the like. But when it comes to sensitive images we should all be mindful and respectful, and encourage our friends to do the same. 

Stay safe. Have fun. Issy x